Supplies will be limited as I mentioned previously. First come, first served. If you want to participate, PM me asap! See my reply post below for the nuts and bolts on how to participate.

I am currently finalizing the 4th and 5th selections for this round. The first 3 (see below) are quite unique and interesting and considered premium offerings! The 4th is also very unique and interesting, though I cannot announce it yet. There will be at least 5 Silver Needle selections in this Round!

TBH, I have never personally had 5 Silver Needle selections all at the same time. This should be exciting!

Here are the first 3 Silver Needle selections. The 4th and 5th will be great selections as well!

Hopefully you will be receiving your teas very soon! All packages went out Thursday and Friday with one exception. This was quite an undertaking, 3 OTTI-s at the same time. Note to self, don’t do that again!

This was also exasperated by several unanticipated delays, most notably a vendor who was most uncooperative and who I will be posting about shortly. Also there was a problem with the packaging! So, I did have to majorly improvise this time around! My apologies! Hopefully the packaging will be fully resolved in time for the next OTTI.

So when you receive your OTTI, I would suggest opening it up and placing the samples into more packaging. You can place the samples in their current wrapping directly into a canister or a vendor foil bag.

The packing is a bit of a balancing act. I would not want to over extend thus significantly increasing the participants cost for the OTTI-s, but the packaging was NOT as planned and will improve!!!

So, look for improvements there. This being the first rounds, there will be a learning curve. I am open to constructive comments, suggestions!

OK, now on to the TEA!

Remember to post in the OTTI topics!!!

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EDIT 2:OTTI Round 3 Silver Needle! Some of these I never tried before, some vendors I never tried before ... so we learn and experiment together!!!

There should be 5 samples. Each sample contains virtually 8 grams of leaf except for the Adam's Peak which contains 4 grams, so if you use half for each session, that is 4 grams. I am offering the leaf ratio I used for each, however you can adjust according to your tastes. Links for each tea are located under OTTI Round 3 on the forum.

EDIT 3:Brewing. Remember to have fun! I never had 5 different Silver Needle selections at one time and plan on having a blast tasting and comparing.

Brewing vessels. Silver Needle can be brewed in just about any brewing vessel, even just a glass.

How much. If you have been on TC long enough, you have likely heard the term ratio used in determining how much leaf to use. A ratio is simply general or preferred strength that allows increasing and decreasing of either leaf weight or volume water while keeping the strength steady.

Your leaf ratio is calculated X grams leaf : Y ounces water. If you fill in the grams at 4, you can adjust the amount of water to find your ratio. Or you can fill in a value for the water and adjust the amount of leaf. I am suggesting using 4 grams leaf for each session and adjusting the amount of water. And I offer corresponding amounts of water below based on using 4 grams, rounded off. This will also give you 2 full sessions, just use half each time.

Just about any Shincha, I will first try at a ratio I somehow intuitively come up with … then adjust with future sessions. Below are my somewhat adjust ratios for each tea. Again if you are newer to sencha, you might want to adjust down a bit, but that is up to you! Based on the ratio, you can plug in the values listed above, or create your own.

Temperatures! This is subjective. I have tried 160-185* and seem most comfortable around 170ish*. Some will like it hotter than this.

Time, really subjective. I have heard 1-8 minutes. I generally go light on time, 1-2 minutes. If you are brewing semi Western style, you can brew with less leaf and more time. Regardless, Silver Needle typically produces more of a sublime cup.

Here is how it will work, subject to changes as we go. OTTI will consist of a hopefully never ending series of "Rounds." A Round is simply a tasting/sampling which will likely consist of several teas.

1) I have procured teas that are (hopefully) of a high quality (of course) through various vendors. (I am open to suggestions along the way!)

2) Interested members can PM me their "wish list" from the Round topic. See the OP for further details on this! Notify me if you do NOT have Paypal ... then also see #4. This Round includes all selections!!! No wish list needed.

3) I will in turn reply PM the interested members including payment directions via Paypal.

4) Members will Paypal the $7 cost (see OP for international members' cost) which will help defray expenses and maintain the sustainability of OTTI. International rates would naturally be higher. If you do not have Paypal, I would encourage you to go to Paypal.com and do so, very easy and safe! It is also the best way to do the OTTI. However if you do not have a paypal, let me know in your PM so we can make other arrangements.

5) Each of the 5 samples plus the bonus tea should give participants several "sessions."

6) Brewing directions will be included. Plus you can ask in this topic ... or PM me.

7) Hope to see some discussion here ... and under the Official TeaVendor topics for the appropriate vendors.

Special note: This is NOT an Adagio program, although I am sure Adagio teas will find their way into the Rounds.

btw I´ve tried the Adam´s Peak at a local tea house...at first I thought it wasn´t infusing properly...it doesn´t seem to give any colour to the water but the aroma is sweet nectar, the body is light and smooth the flavour is just like the aroma...sweet nectar...and it lasts through many infusions without fading.

entropyembrace wrote:btw I´ve tried the Adam´s Peak at a local tea house...at first I thought it wasn´t infusing properly...it doesn´t seem to give any colour to the water but the aroma is sweet nectar, the body is light and smooth the flavour is just like the aroma...sweet nectar...and it lasts through many infusions without fading.

Yes, this has been my experience with Ceylon Silver Needle, though the actual origin was not so disclosed as this one. The Ceylon SN was definitely one of the best SN I have tried and quite different from Chinese versions.